Dreams and Imagination

I read a book and my imagination goes crazy. Half the time the pictures in my head while I’m reading aren’t all that vivid but I still feel as if I’ve seen it all. When I’m done I can usually “see” everything that I just read. Even if actual pictures haven’t formed in my head, the impression I have is still enough for me to “see.”

Then I watch a movie like with Harry Potter or a TV like with Game of Thrones. All imagined pictures fly from my head and are replaced by what I’ve actually seen. Sometimes this is a good thing (if what I’ve seen is believable) but sometimes it can ruin the book. Of course, sometimes I downright refuse to watch the screen adaptation (Vampire Diaries) because I’m so attached to the original books and I don’t trust the adaptation.

Then it happens that I’ll watch the screen adaptation first and read the book(s) after. Game of Thrones is one of these. In fact, I got so into the show that I stopped reading the first book because I couldn’t keep up and it was driving me nuts.

My husband is just as hooked as I am. Last night he asked when we were going to have some special time. Him being a lusty man, I figured he meant sex and I was burned out from having being in the sun all day so I started to say so. Then I looked up and saw him holding the 2 new discs from Netflix. I burst out laughing.

We had to wait till our son was in bed and then we sat down to 4 hours of Game of Thrones. I finally got to bed at 11:15.

Lucky me proceeded to dream of Tyrion Lannister for the rest of the night. I was Sansa and Tywinn Lannister came and threatened me with bad things if I didn’t sleep with Tyrion. They’d check to see the blood on the bed afterward to make sure we’d done it.

Lots of stuff happened after that with a guest appearance from Joffrey, who didn’t stay long, and another from Shae, who also didn’t stay long. Stuff happened and I went to take a walk around New York City. I ended up in Greenwich Village and was chased along with a couple female friends of mine by a couple guys. Then I got on a bus with 2 funny professors and went back to Tyrion.

Not a bad dream despite the undertones of evil and danger. It wasn’t scary (I was laughing through a couple parts) and I actually quite enjoyed it.

But it’s pretty obvious I’m a little hung up on Game of Thrones. Maybe Tyrion Lannister in particular? It’s not that I find him attractive, but his character is awesome. He has the best personality!

I think when I finally start reading the books again that I’ll be picturing the show in my head. I don’t know if that’s good or bad but since I love the show I’ll go with good.

What book-turned-show/movie do you like?

Crazy Dream

I had a dream last night that I was crazy. Or was I? That was the question that was haunting me in the dream.

I was running through an insane asylum, looking for a way through to get to my dorm room. There were people chasing me, claiming I was an escaped inmate. They said the reality I thought was real wasn’t and that I had to accept the fact that I was crazy so they could treat me. I was trapped in some kind of nightmare world and I thought if I made it to my dorm room then the real world would come back.

My husband’s alarm woke me up before I could find a way to my dorm though. Good thing too as it wasn’t the happiest of dreams. Kind of Silent Hill-esque. Maybe I was making noises or something in my sleep because my husband asked me if I slept okay. Or maybe it was because our son kept waking us up coughing and trying to climb into the bed at all hours of the night.

This dream intrigues me as a story idea – is the person crazy or not? Written 1st person.

Challenge:

Pay attention to your dreams. Write them down if they interest you enough. There could be gems hiding in your slumbering mind. Take a dream that really grabs you and mold it into a story.

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Where do I get my ideas?

Many writers will tell you that the question they’re asked the most often is, “Where do you get your ideas?” I don’t believe I’ve ever been asked that particular question.

So where do I get my ideas?

Pretty simple. Most of my short stories come from either daydreams or real dreams from my slumbering hours. My novel ideas come from daydreams. Quite frequently it’ll start off as something concerning X-Men or Thor or whatever else I’m into at the moment, then when it’s still in my mind it’ll start to mutate and by the time it’s done it doesn’t (or shouldn’t if I’ve done my job properly) look anything like the original fantasy.

Unfortunately, then I begin to write and heaven only knows where the story will really end up. “Night’s Treasure” took about 4 complete go-throughs that had me changing nearly every single detail each time. The manuscript looks nothing like the original attempt at it much less the original mental idea.

Subconscious Dreams…

These are much easier. My subconscious can whip up some real doozies while I’m asleep. The trick is not forgetting them after I’m awake. Many I do forget because they’re forgettable. Others, like last night’s, I do not forget. I dreamt I had been captured along with a young version of Arnold Schwarzeneger (he was in character, not himself). They separated us and stuck us in a mountain prison-type place with a bunch of other people. Space was extremely limited so there were times I couldn’t move from where I was lying. Then they left us without food or water. Arnold escaped and I hoped he’d come back for me. People devolved and began eating each other. They became sub-human monsters (at least mentally). Others in order to avoid the fate of being eaten or starving to death, threw themselves off cliffs. I was starving. People began eating my feet but I couldn’t move from where I was lying because there wasn’t room. I gave up waiting for Arnold and threw myself off the cliff next to me. I hoped a broken neck would end things quickly but my conscious mind couldn’t bear it so I just kind of skidded and floated down. Then I knew Arnold was coming for me but it was too late.

The dream changed after that into some kind of ghost dream because I’ve been reading lots of ghost stories lately. It was interesting but not like being eaten and throwing myself off a cliff.

Getting a dream to stick…

So this is the dream I take with me. I don’t have time to immediately write it down when I wake up because I have to get myself and my kid ready for the day so I mentally review it over and over while I’m getting ready. This helps the dream stick till I have time to record it. I’ll add it to my list of short story ideas. Maybe I’ll use some version of it as flash fiction. The details of the dream aren’t all that important to me in this particular case; it’s the idea I want to capture. Being closed in, eaten alive, maybe buried alive. Captured or abandoned with no hope. Death closing in.

And already my brain is whirling around these concepts. I think i may just do a flash fiction piece from this dream.

Save Your Dreams!

You can get tons of great ideas when you’re asleep. If you think your dreams are boring, influence them by reading or watching lots of interesting or weird things. I’ve been reading about ghosts a lot lately and last night I dreamt about ghosts.

Try it. After awhile it may work for you too.